INTERNATIONAL TRADE
What a freeport means for the East Midlands
In the spring budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed East Midlands Airport would be the location for one of eight freeports. After a successful bid involving political and business leaders across the region, the hard work starts now. Some of those involved in the project, including the Chamber, discussed the opportunities it will provide during a webinar hosted by Insider Media.
An “enterprise zone on steroids” is one of the descriptions given to a freeport, a designated area for international trade that will soon be located at East Midlands Airport. While it will feature similar
benefits to enterprise zones, which provide tax breaks, Government support and a hub for doing business between companies in similar sectors – such as the life sciences and advanced manufacturing clusters in Nottingham and Derby respectively – there are hopes the freeport’s value will extend much further. “Yes, it’ll feature reduced tax and
regulation, but the important point is it’s about creating new opportunities,” says Chris Hobson, the Chamber’s director of policy and external affairs. “Since the Chancellor’s announcement, we’ve had many businesses getting in touch wanting to get involved. The reason businesses are so excited about this right now is that as we come out of the past 12 months, they’re starting to look afresh at where their supply chains are constructed and which markets – whether its geographical or sectoral – they want to be in. “Having this zone slap bang in
the middle of the country, where they can invest and realise some of those amazing opportunities – and we’ve seen in our most recent Quarterly Economic Survey that businesses want to invest in big capex projects – is really exciting.”
THE SUCCESSFUL EAST Midlands freeport bid was led by the region’s two local enterprise partnerships, D2N2 and LLEP, with strong backing from cross-party MPs and the Chamber – which had campaigned for a free trade zone linked to the airport since 2018, when it presented the Delivering a Great Future manifesto at Westminster including “The Big Opportunity” this would create for the region. The pandemic has highlighted
the value of the airport’s express freight hub.
‘The incentives package clearly puts the region on the map and is an accelerant to a lot of the growth we’re looking for’
It was already the busiest pure
cargo airport in the UK and while growth was expected, it’s been brought forward by coronavirus due to the online shopping boom and reduced passenger flights globally narrowing bellyhold alternatives. Managing director Clare James
says: “At the heart of the country, we have this cracking intermodal capability with rail and road networks built around the airport. When you add the inland freeport zone, it’s a very compelling and
unique offer.” Explaining what the freeport area
will involve at the East Midlands Freeport - Opportunities in the New Superhub webinar hosted by Insider Media, D2N2 chief executive Sajeeda Rose calls it a “special economic zone” featuring a series of incentives and benefits. She says: “It will provide
customs-free access and streamlined customs arrangements for goods to be imported, processed, used in manufacturing and then exported without any trading costs or bureaucracy. “In addition, there’s a suite of
fiscal incentives for businesses in those sites, such as business rates reduction, and National Insurance and stamp duty exemptions – with the intention being this package will attract new investment into the freeport site.” It will be based around the East Midlands Airport and Gateway Industrial Cluster in North-West Leicestershire, while also bringing in Uniper’s nearby Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire
and the East Midlands Intermodal Park (EMIP) in South Derbyshire. “Collectively, they represent a
major opportunity to attract major investment in more than 500 hectares of land and development, expanding the three counties in the East Midlands,” adds Sajeeda, who is now working alongside LLEP on a business case that will require Government endorsement to set up the freeport structures.
AS THE ONLY inland freeport in England, it will have unrivalled rail connectivity from EMIP to all UK ports, and there’s ambitions for a transformed Ratcliffe site – which will be decommissioned by 2025 – to drive innovation into alternative energy sources and green technologies. It could create nearly 60,000
new skilled jobs and an annual £2bn economic uplift in the region, with investors potentially attracted to the region’s strengths and opportunities in areas such as low- carbon manufacturing. The freeport complements well
with the East Midlands Development Corporation, a separate project that also seeks to take advantage of the airport and Ratcliffe sites, but also draws in the potential of the Toton HS2 hub station and redevelopment of the nearby Chetwynd Barracks, with the aim of creating 84,000 jobs and adding £4.8bn to the region’s economy. “The incentives package clearly
Sajeeda Rose 42 business network May 2021 Chris Hobson
puts the region on the map and is an accelerant to a lot of the growth we’re looking for in the region,” says Ken Harrison, director of the Midlands Engine-led Development Corporation programme. “While we’ve identified the
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